Chocolate Cups with Bailey's Mousse

A few weeks ago, my mom sent me this link for Easter Egg Balloon Cups.  I thought they were pretty cool looking and wanted to try them out.  But there was so much more potential here than to just fill them with little chocolate eggs.  What to use...

Bailey's Mousse.  It's perfect.  Light and fluffy, combined with the crunch of the chocolate, and Irish creme goes so well with chocolate in any setting.

I did have some trouble with my balloons being too large.  I just pulled them out of the junk drawer, but you'll be better off going to get the little water balloons, I think.

For the bowls...

Ingredients

1 lb semi-sweet and milk chocolate
small water balloons

Temper your chocolate. Pay close attention to the temperature of the chocolate, this is important!

Cool chocolate slightly, then dip in balloons.  Two dips should be plenty.  Put balloons on parchment lined tray until set, then refrigerate.

For the mousse...

Ingredients

1 c whipping cream, divided
1/4 c chocolate shavings
1/4 c Bailey's

In a double boiler, stir 2 T whipping cream with the chocolate shavings until melted and smooth.  Cool to room temperature and whisk in the Baileys.  Whip the remaining cream until soft peaks form.  Gently fold the whipped cream into the Bailey's mix, then refrigerate to set, about an hour.  Spoon into chocolate cups and enjoy!

Thai Take-In

Okay, so, I took some fantastically gorgeous pictures of this dinner!  Lots of them!  ...Without a memory card in my camera.  Ooops.  I promise I'll take some more (WITH the memory card) when I'm eating leftovers next week.  Unless I forget because I'm busy with the new job (had I mentioned that yet?  I'm employed again!), in which case I'll just have to make this whole thing over again and eat even more Thai and you know, that sounds like an amazing idea really!

ANYWAY!

Rewind four months.  I was just coming back from the Grand Canyon Adventure with Adventure and Cooking Buddy Stacey.  Traditionally, we make our first meal after a backpacking trip a special one.  In Alaska, it was always Moose Tooth.  This time we tried the steak house at the Canyon, but the food was not up to our ridiculous foodie standards.  I thought Stacey was going to cry when her dessert came out covered in cool whip.  So we needed another, better post-Canyon celebration dinner.  Well, plans changed and Stacey came back to Vegas with me before returning home, and she declared that we should feast at Lotus of Siam.  This was a place that had been recommended to me by several people but I just hadn't made it there yet (something which I now regret).  So, off to Lotus we went.

Oh.  My.  God.

We ordered drunken noodles with crispy duck and khao soi with braised short ribs.  I was in heaven.  Absolute heaven.  Unfortunately, we only had a few more weeks left in Vegas at that point.  I set about going to Lotus every chance I got.

Back to the present:  I have been Lotus-less for four months now.  I swear I have actually been dreaming about that khao soi.  I had to have some.  So, I had to make some.  I spent a few days looking at various recipes on the internet, then set about winging it with my own recollection of the dishes from Lotus.  I was very pleased with how the Khao Soi turned out.  The Drunken Noodles weren't perfect, but The Husband loved them anyway.

Khao Soi Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients

6 beef short ribs
salt and pepper
1 T evoo
2 T vegetable oil
1 T minced garlic
1 T red curry paste
1 c red wine
6 c water

1 package thin rice or egg noodles
1 T evoo

2 T vegetable oil
1 T minced garlic
2 T red curry paste
1 can (2 c) coconut milk
2 c braising liquid or beef stock
1 1/2 t turmeric
1 T soy
1 T sugar
1 t salt

Optional:
1 diced serrano chili
pickled veggies*

Place dutch oven** on lowest rack.  Preheat oven to 350.  In a large skillet, heat the evoo.  Rub the ribs with salt and pepper, then brown on each side.  Set aside.  In a sauce pan, heat up the vegetable oil until it is sizzling.  Add the garlic and the red curry, stirring well.  Add the wine and simmer for three minutes.  Add the water and return to a simmer.  Carefully pour liquids into dutch oven.  Add ribs and cover.  Cook for 2-2.5 hours or until meat is falling off the bones.

When the ribs are almost done, make the curry sauce.  Heat the vegetable oil, then add the garlic and red curry, stirring well.  While stirring, add the coconut milk, then the braising liquid.  Simmer for three minutes.  Stir in the turmeric, soy, sugar and salt (for a spicier dish, add the diced chili).  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 10 minutes.

While the curry is cooking, cook the noodles according to the package instructions.  Drain.  Heat the evoo in a skillet and toss the noodles in, stirring constantly until noodles are slightly toasted.

Serve curry and short ribs over noodles, topping with pickled veggies.

*I tried pickling my own but I wasn't happy with the result.  I will try again.
**If you have a flat bottomed dutch oven, no need to preheat, just use it instead of the saucepan in the following steps.

Drunken Noodles with Veggies

Ingredients

2 T vegetable oil
3 cups diced veggies - baby corn, bell peppers, green beans
2 T minced garlic
3 serrano chiles, diced

1/2 bag of wide egg noodles

4 T soy
1 1/2 T oyster sauce
1 T rice vinegar
3 T brown sugar
lime juice from 1 lime

dash white pepper

Heat the oil in a large wok.  Add the veggies, garlic, and chiles, stirring well.  Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.  While vegetables are cooking, boil noodles according to package directions and drain.

Once the vegetables are tender, add the noodles and continue to fry for 3 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, mix together the soy, oyster sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and lime juice.  Pour over the noodles and veggies, stirring well.  Cook until the sauce has reduced, stirring constantly.  Top with a dash of white pepper and serve.

Marsala Risotto, Crispy Roasted Veggies, and the Holy Grail of Chocolate Cake

February's HH6 (as a side note, I really need to update my HH6 blogs tab) (side note two, I'm also a few days early with this) cooking challenge:

In celebration of Valentine's Day, create a dish that represents your relationship with your significant other. (example: the meal you had on your first date, on a vacation together, what you ate before you got engaged, the meal you had at your wedding etc.)

I have changed a lot over the course of my relationship with my husband.  I count myself as very fortunate that he has changed along with me.  Those who knew me in high school are continually amazed at the person I've become and I owe much of that to my husband who has always encouraged me to be a stronger, better person (even if he doesn't realize he's doing it!).

When we got married, I couldn't really cook.  I was student teaching right before we tied the knot and I'm pretty sure I lived on Kraft mac and cheese, Hamburger Helper, and frozen bagged stew mix.  The problem with this?  My husband hates cheese.  Insanity!  So there went the mac and cheese and most of the Hamburger Helpers!  What's a girl to do?  Why, learn to cook real food, of course.

One of the first real dishes I learned to cook was Chicken Marsala.  I've blogged this recipe before, so just follow the link to see.  I chose to use it for this challenge because it is pretty much the only thing that I cooked during our first year of marriage that survived my transition into a crazed foodie - and The Husband absolutely adores it.  The fact that he's been begging for it lately also might have played a part in my decision.

Back when we first got married, I'd serve the chicken with bagged instant rice and frozen veggies.  No more!  Now my chicken is accompanied with a creamy risotto flavored with marsala wine (no cheese, dear), and crispy roasted broccoli and brussel sprouts, both of which we would be content to eat like popcorn.  You never knew brussel sprouts could taste this good!

Marsala Risotto

Ingredients

1 c white rice
2 T butter
1 c marsala wine, divided in half
1 quart chicken stock (preferably home made!)

Always stir risotto CONSTANTLY!  This means if you need to cook something else at the same time, make sure that everything is mis en placed and within arms reach.

Heat the chicken stock until simmering.  Reduce heat and continue to simmer.  In a separate pot or saucepan, melt the butter until bubbly.  Add the rice and stir constantly until just toasted, not browned.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add in 1/2 c marsala wine.  Stir constantly.  Once the liquid is mostly gone, add a ladle of chicken stock.  Again, stir constantly.  Once the liquid is mostly gone, add another ladle of chicken stock.  Getting the picture?  Keep going until the stock is gone and/or the rice is creamy and fully cooked (if you run out of stock and it's not cooked, use hot water).  When the rice is cooked, add in the last 1/2 c marsala and keep on stirring.  Serve immediately.

Crispy Roasted Veggies

Ingredients

1 broccoli head, sliced into bite-sized pieces
4 brussel sprouts, quartered
EVOO
Pepper
Garlic salt

Preheat oven to 500.  Toss veggies onto a tray, drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with pepper and garlic salt.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Now, about the cake.  Valentines Day also happens to be The Husband's birthday, so I like to go all-out.  Last year was strawberry tartlets.  The two years before, though, he was deployed and got cake-in-a-jar (I should blog that sometime).  This year is all about the chocolate.

When I was in college, I went around making giant chocolate layer cakes for Christmas.  Of course, I used box mixes and what have you, but I think this tendency is part of the reason The Husband fell in love with me.  He comes from a family of chocoholics, and has been occasionally dropping hints that I have failed in providing him with Epic Layer Cake Goodness.  I needed to fix that.  So here we go, the Holy Grail of Chocolate Cake: chocolate fudge cake layered with cream cheese filling, chocolate-caramel butter cream and caramel cream drizzle.  You will never need another cake again.

*with the exception of the cake, which makes a full 13x9 sheet cake, the other recipes have been reduced because I only wanted to layer and frost a mini-cake, there being only two of us here.  If you are making a full-sized layer cake I recommend doubling the filling and the frosting.

Holy Grail of Chocolate Cake

Cake (Adapted from Alton Brown's Devil's Food Cake)

Ingredients

1 c boiling water
4 oz cocoa powder
1 1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/4 c sugar
4 c flour
1 t baking soda
pinch salt
1 c vegetable oil
4 oz sour cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.  Line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.

Combine water and cocoa powder until smooth.

Mix sugars, flour, baking soda and salt in your stand mixer.  In a separate bowl, whisk oil, sour cream, eggs, yolks, and vanilla.  Carefully add the chocolate mix to the wet ingredients, stirring well.  Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry, blending until smooth.  Pour into pan and bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely before removing cake from pan.

Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients

6 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 T butter, room temperature
1/2 T vanilla
2-3 c powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until well mixed.  Add vanilla, then carefully add powdered sugar. Taste and add the final cup of sugar if you feel it necessary (I like my filling a bit tart).

Chocolate-Caramel Buttercream

Ingredients

1/2 c butter, room temperature
2 oz cocoa powder
3-4 c powdered sugar
1/3 c milk
2 t vanilla
2 t caramel coffee syrup

Combine powdered sugar and cocoa.  In a different bowl, beat butter for a minute.  Carefully add the sugar and cocoa, then the milk, vanilla and syrup.  Beat until fluffy.

Caramel Cream Drizzle

Ingredients

1/2 c brown sugar
2 T butter
2 T milk
powdered sugar to taste (2 T-1/3 c)

Melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan, stirring constantly.  Cook until the mixture is quite bubbly, then whisk in milk.  Keep stirring and cook two more minutes, then set aside to cool.  Whisk in powdered sugar to taste (more if you want to use as frosting, less if you want to drizzle).

Building the Cake

Chill your cake layers (covered in plastic wrap) for at least an hour before building the cake.  Use a knife to level each layer if necessary.  Place first layer on a sheet of parchment paper.  Spread thickly with cream cheese filling, but leave a margin of 1/4 to 1/2 inch around the edge.  Place second layer on top and press down gently.  Spread the second layer with filling, again leaving a margin.  Top with third layer.  Spread cake thinly with buttercream - this is a crumb coating, don't make it perfect or thick.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before continuing.

Remove cake from fridge.  Spread with final layer of buttercream, then carefully transfer to the serving plate. Drizzle with caramel cream and enjoy!

Lentil Chili

Healthy, hot, filling, and delicious!  This is an amazing vegetarian recipe from Wegmans.  And to prove how delicious it is, I made it for my husband.  He told me it looked funny.  I told him to take a bite.  Next thing I know I was having to keep him away with one hand while I snapped this picture with the other.  He devoured every bit set in front of him!  It's that good.  So, what are you waiting for??

To make this even better, make the veggie stock yourself - just simmer some onions, carrots and celery for a few hours!

Ingredients

1 c red lentils
2 c water
2 T olive oil
1/2 c diced onion
1/4 c diced celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tomato, diced
2 c veggie stock
2 c water
1 1/2 T tabasco
1/8 t tumeric
1/8 t cumin
1/8 c cayenne
1/8 c chili powder
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 green pepper, finely diced

Combine lentils and 2 c water in a pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Remove from heat.  Puree half the lentils and liquid.

In another pot, heat olive oil.  At medium low heat, add onions, celery and garlic.  Stir, cooking for five minutes.  Add tomatoes and cook another five minutes.  Add stock, water, tabasco, and all other spices.  Bring to a simmer.  Add all of the lentils (whole and pureed) and stir well.  Cook 10 minutes.  Add green pepper and cook another five minutes or until lentils are tender.

Carnitas with Cilantro-Lime Crema

I. Love. Mexican. Food.  Soooo much.  After a fair amount of time spent in a location which does not have any real Mexican food (if it doesn't involve corn tortillas and cilantro, how can you call it a taco?), I'm binging a bit.  Unfortunately, my wallet does not love me going out to this taco wagon or that hole-in-the-wall every day.  The answer?  Make my own!  This recipe from David Lebovitz took half a day to make, but boy was it worth it!  As an added bonus, the crema is fat-free and I was shocked to find out how much less fat is in a corn tortilla compared to flour!

Ingredients

1 pork butt or shoulder
2 T olive oil
water
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t chili powder
1 t ancho powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t garlic
2 T fresh cilantro

1 c fat-free Dannon yogurt
Coffee filter
juice from 1/2 lime
1 T fresh cilantro
1/2 minced ancho chili

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut the pork into large pieces and brown in the oil.  Drain in paper towels, then place the pieces into a roasting pan.  Cover with drippings and herbs, then add water to about halfway up the pork.  Roast uncovered for 3 hours, turning pieces several times.

Meanwhile, fold the coffee filter over the mouth of a large cup.  Put yogurt into the filter and let drain for 3 hours.

Remove pieces and shred coarsely with a fork.  Return to pan and oven, roasting again until pork is crispy.

Back to the yogurt!  Put in small bowl, discarding whey, and stir in the cilantro, lime, and ancho.

Serve carnitas in corn tortillas, topped with crema.  Enjoy!

Summer Trifle

This is a fantastic, healthier dessert for as the weather starts warming up.  As an added benefit, it's incredibly simple as well.  I think my mom and I first found this recipe when I was in high school - it's been a favorite ever since!  I make it a little differently every time, by using fruits that are in season, or just whatever fruits I want!  Using different amounts of fruit also changes the dish in enjoyable ways.  I prefer to err on the side of more, but if you like a little less that works too!

Ingredients

2 angel food cakes
4-8 c mixed fruit
1/4 c fruit juice or fruit flavored liquor

Simmer the fruit and the juice until the fruit is quite soft and has released its juices.  Mash the fruit coarsely and set aside.

Tear the angel food cakes into bite sized pieces.  Places one layer over the bottom of a medium bowl or trifle bowl.  Ladle some of the fruit over top.  Add another layer of cake, then another layer of fruit.  Continue until you run out of cake and fruit, but make sure to end with cake on the top.

Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  Using another bowl (or pretty much anything else), place weights on top of the cake.  The plastic wrap should be loose enough to allow the weight to compress the cake.

Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Remove weight and serve with fat-free whipped cream.

Sausage Rolls

 One summer during college, we took a family vacation to Ireland.  Actually, now that I think about it, that was our last real family vacation, since shortly after graduation I moved out, got married, and moved across the country.  Anyway, one morning we were wandering around Dublin and stopped in a bakery for breakfast.  Everyone else got some sort of sweet pastry, but I prefer savory food and opted for the sausage roll.

This sausage roll was a piece of heaven in hand-held form.

The bread was flaky and sweet, the sausage perfectly spicy, with a little bit of cheese.  Since bread, meat and cheese are my favorite food groups, this was perfect!

In 2009, I was working my way through the Bread Bakers Apprentice challenge (I've stalled out on the sourdoughs but I really do intend to finish!) and came across Peter Reinhart's Casiatello.  As soon as I took a bite, it called to mind that Irish sausage roll - but it wasn't quite right.  I was onto something, though!  I planned to go back and make some changes to the recipe to make it more like that tasty little roll, but never got around to it.

This months HH6 challenge, however, is to recreate a dish from another country, and it got me up off my butt and working on my sausage roll.

I used Peter Reinhart's recipe as a base, but I have made some definite changes to make it more like my memory of Ireland.  This bread is fairly simple to make, and quite quick as far as bread is concerned.  It takes about 5 hours from start to finish, with several nicely placed breaks to allow for running errands.

 

Regarding cheese and salami:  These will make or break your bread - I made a special trip to the artisan cheese and salami shop just for this bread (twist my arm, why don't you?).  You want a cheese that will melt nicely, but has a good flavor as well.  Good flavor, but not necessarily strong.  The salami will do that.  I blended about 20% emmenthaler with 80% Wagon Wheel from Cowgirl Creamery.  The Wagon Wheel worked wonders, and if you have access to it, use it!  For the salami, I used half Da Vino, which is a red-wine salami, and half Finocchiona, which is - get this - curry salami.  Don't be shy with the salami either.  4oz will seem like a lot, but you need it all!

Ingredients

1/2 hot water
1 T yeast
1/2 c flour
3/4 c milk

3 1/2 c flour
1 t salt
1 T sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c butter

4 oz salami, chopped and lightly sauteed
1 c cheese, coarsely chopped or shredded

1 package Lil' Smokies

 (The Husband got me a kitchen aid for my birthday!  Isn't he the best?)

Sponge
Mix the hot water and yeast together.  Set aside for five minutes or until frothy.  In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 c flour, milk, and yeast mix.  Cover with plastic wrap and rest for one hour.

Dough
In your kitchenaid (or a medium bowl), combine the 3 1/2 c flour, salt and sugar.  Stir in the eggs and the sponge until the dough forms a coarse ball.  Rest for 10 minutes.

Cut the butter into four pieces.  Begin to work them into the dough one at a time, either stirring or mixing with the paddle attachment at medium speed (this is where a kitchenaid ROCKS!).  The butter MUST be completely blended.  This is important!

Once all of the butter is completely blended, begin kneading the bread.  If using a mixer, use the paddle for four minutes, then switch to the dough hook for another 5-8.

Once the dough has smoothed out and isn't quite so sticky, stir or mix in the chopped salami and cheese until evenly distributed.

Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and rest 90 minutes.

Now, to shape the dough.  Use any of the following: muffin pan, mini-cheesecake pan, or a round pie pan.  Whichever you use, grease the pan!

Divide the dough into SMALL pieces and carefully wrap around one lil' smokie.  If using muffin or mini cheesecake pans, place one bundle in each well.  If using a pie pan, cluster the rolls so they are not quite touching.

Mist the tops of the dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rest 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Turn pans and continue baking another 10-20 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned and cheese is bubbling out the top.  Cool before eating...if you can resist!

Strawberry Tartlets

Yesterday was, of course, Valentine's Day.  It was also the Husband's birthday, so I went all-out cooking.  Last fall, Husband had requested that I learn how to make pie crusts.  With that request in mind, I decided that these strawberry tartlets (based off of this recipe at Epicurious) would be the perfect dessert.

This was my first venture into crust-making, and it was a good thing I started the crusts a day early because my first attempt was a complete and utter failure!  I made some adjustments, and the second time worked like a charm.

We paired the tart with a vintage character port - fantabulous!

Recipe makes four tartlets or one full-size tart.

Ingredients

4 mini tart pans or one large tart pan with removeable bottom

Crust

1 1/4 c flour
3 T sugar
1/4 t salt
7 T butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t lemon juice
3 T ice-cold water

Slice the butter into small pieces.  Put flour, sugar, salt and butter into the bowl of a food processor.  Process until well blended, with butter being no larger than pea sized.  Mix together the yolk, vanilla, lemon and water, then slowly add to the flour mixture, processing just enough to form a dough.

Gently knead for a minute or two.  Press to fill greased tart pans, then place in the freezer for an hour or until completely frozen.

Preheat to 375.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Add greased pie weights and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until nicely browned.  Cool for at least 20 minutes.


Filling

8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 c powdered sugar (or a little less)
1 t vanilla
3 T ruby port
1 T milk (or more)

Using a hand-held mixer, whip the first three ingredients until smooth.  Add the port until a light purple color is achieved.  Add milk as needed to smooth and thin out the filling.


Strawberries and glaze

1 pint strawberries
2 T sugar
3/4 c ruby port

Thinly slice the strawberries and toss with the sugar.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Drain, reserving the liquid.  Mix the strawberry juice with the port in a small saucepan and simmer until reduced by half.'

Spread the mascarpone filling in the tart shells.  Layer the sliced strawberries on top, pressing gently.  Spoon glaze over top and refrigerate 20 minutes before serving.

Apple-Peach Cream Cheese Bites

This is one of the gems in the Double Musky cookbook.  Prefacing the recipe, they mention that few guests at the Double Musky have actually tasted this - whenever they make it, the staff eats it before it can be served!  I can certainly see why!  This is, without a doubt, the most delicious AND the easiest cheesecake I have ever made.  It takes all the best parts of a fruit pie and a cheesecake, melding them into one sinfully delicious bite.

The mini-cheesecake is an optional format.  This works equally well in a traditional springform or a pie tin.

Ingredients

Crust

1 package grahm crackers
1/2 c sugar
3 T butter, room temperature

Fruit layer

3 c fruit of your choice, diced and sliced
1/2 c sugar
2 T flour
cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to taste

Cream Cheese layer

1 8oz tub of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c cream
1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 400.

Crush the grahm crackers with your hand, then place in food processor with the sugar and butter.  Process until completely blended.  Press into pan.  If using a pie tin, do not extend the crust all the way out.  If using springform, make sure to press the crust up the side of the pan.

In a bowl, mix together sugar, flour and spices.  Gently stir in the fruit until well coated.  Spread evenly in the pan.

Bake the fruit and crust for 10-15 minutes.  Reduce oven to 350.

Meanwhile, blend the sugar and cream cheese well.  Beat in the eggs, then add the cream and vanilla, just until completely mixed.  Pour on top of fruit and bake 20-40 minutes, or until center is firm and the outsides are just starting to brown.  Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Chicken Etouffe and Mulled Cider

Merry Christmas!  This was our Christmas Eve dinner, thanks to The Husband for finding the cookbook.  Usually you expect Shrimp Etouffe, but I am not a shrimp fan, so chicken it is.

Ingredients

Brown Sauce

2 c beef stock
Burgundy wine to taste
Beef base
brown roux (flour, butter/margarine blend)

Combine first three ingredients in a medium pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 30-60 minutes.  While this is simmering, make the roux by melting 1 c of the butter blend and adding 1 c of flour to the melted butter.  Whisk constantly to ensure that the roux doesn't burn.  If the roux burns, throw it out and start over.  Continue whisking and cooking the butter and flour (adding more flour as needed) until the roux darkens to a reddish milk-chocolate color.  At this point, remove roux from heat and continue to stir.  Add a little bit of stock to the roux to help cool it down (be careful!).  Remove stock from burner and begin whisking in the roux until the sauce thickens, a little at a time.  Adjust consistency with more roux or more wine.  Simmer for another hour to blend flavors.


Etouffe

1/4 c butter
1 T garlic
1/2 T parsley
1 c diced celery
1 c green onions
1 c chicken stock
1 c diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 t hot pepper sauce
2 t thyme
2 T garlic
black pepper
1 c brown sauce
1 chicken breast, cut into slices

Melt butter with garlic and parsley.  Add in celery and onions and simmer until celery is half cooked.  Add stock, tomatoes, bay leaves, hot pepper sauce, thyme, garlic, and pepper and reduce heat to simmer until sauce thickens.  Remove bay leaves and add brown sauce.

Meanwhile, brown the chicken in a skillet with salt and pepper.  Add to the sauce and cook until chicken is done.

Serve over rice.

Mulled Cider

In a crockpot, combine cider with 2 sticks cinnamon, 1/4 c cranberries, 1 orange (sliced and studded with cloves), and a dash of ginger and cayenne.  Cook on low for several hours.

Smoked Chex Mix

"What did you do to it?  Did you like... cook it in bacon fat?!  It's SO GOOD!"

- My boss

Chex mix was a constant during my childhood.  We'd make a giant batch for the holidays, or before any long road trips.  Well, my friends, with the traeger and a bit of cayenne, I have brought chex mix to a whole new level of deliciousness.  And it doesn't even involve bacon (though I'm sure that would be tasty).

Some of you are probably saying "But Heather, that picture isn't chex mix!  It's just chex!"

You are correct.  But guess what?  I'm a grown up and I can make my chex mix however I want!  And I don't actually like all the nuts and pretzels, so unless I'm making it for other people, it's just chex.  Your mileage may vary.

Ingredients

9 c chex (corn, rice, wheat, whatever)

1 c mixed nuts

1 c pretzel bites

6 T butter

3 T Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 t seasoned salt

3/4 t garlic and wine seasoning

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t cayenne

Melt the butter and stir in the Worcestershire and seasonings.  Place the chex, nuts, and pretzels in a large pan.  Pour the sauce over and stir until evenly coated.  Cook on smoke for 1 hour and medium for 1 hour, stirring every 30 minutes during smoke and 15 during medium.  I used a mix of alder and apple pellets.

Spread out on towels to dry.  Enjoy!

Baby Got Back!

 Baby got a Traeger grill, too - finally!  My little Traeger Jr. was delivered yesterday evening, and I promptly set out on a cooking adventure today!  Traegers are pellet grills - they smoke, they grill, and they bake.  Jack of all trades!

For my first Traeger adventure, I went with the classic baby back ribs, with a Cajun twist.

Step 1: Soak the ribs in beer for an hour, turning half way through.

Step 2: Get the smoker going.  I used apple pellets.  Rub the ribs with Cajun seasoning and smoke for 1 hour 45 minutes.

Step 3: In a saucepan, blend your favorite BBQ sauce with some Cajun seasoning and garlic.  Set aside.

Step 4:  Brush the ribs with the BBQ sauce.  Wrap in tinfoil with a little beer.  Return to grill over medium (225-275) heat for another hour and 45 minutes.

Step 5:  Remove ribs from foil.  Grill an additional hour.

Pear Compote

It's Christmastime again! The Husband and I were alone for Christmas this year. We're still in the process of modifying and creating our own traditions for Christmas, especially when it comes to food. So we had a bunch of experiments and this was dessert.

Now, The Husband is a very dedicated chocolate fan. His desserts are chocolate desserts. As you can see, this clearly does not have any chocolate in it. Well - he scarfed this stuff down so fast, I thought the world must be coming to an end!

Really, this is a fantastic dessert. The flavors are perfect, the colors are pretty and best of all, there is leftover syrup to drizzle on ice cream the next day!

Ingredients

1/4 c red wine (I used a pinot noir)
1/3 c water
1/2 c sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 slices lemon
2 pears, peeled, cored and quartered

Combine the wine, water and sugar in a saucepan until well blended. Add the cinnamon, lemon, and pears. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until pears are tender. Remove pears and chill. Strain and reserve the sauce, also refrigerate. Serve chilled, with vanilla ice cream.

Magic Pumpkin Pie

We are not allowed to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas in this house without making this pie. This recipe comes from my husband's side of the family and this year he even made it himself!

I have to admit, the first time I saw this recipe I was pretty skeptical. What kind of pumpkin pie isn't loaded with spices? Dubious, I followed the instructions, but to my surprise I ended up with a pie full of sweet, clean flavors. The cinnamon sprinkle on top is all the spice this pie needs!

Ingredients

1 c pumpkin
1 heaping tsp flour
2 T brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 pinch salt
1 pint evaporated milk
1/2 c sugar
dash cinnamon

Mix pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, egg, and salt. Beat well, add milk. Beat again. Pour into unbaked pie shell and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Cook at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes.

If you're feeling naughty, you can use a full cup of sugar and sweet milk instead of evaporated milk.

Edit 11/25: So today I was making the famous family Pumpkin Pie recipe and realized we were about a quart short of evaporated milk. Luckily, it turns out that you can substitute dried milk that has been inadequately hydrated for evaporated milk, as all the latter is is milk that has a lower water content than usual.

We'll see how it turns out...

This recipe even made it into the paper! That's my husband there, wasn't he an adorable toddler?

Molasses Crowberry Cake

Berry season makes me cook a lot! Apparently blueberries and molasses are a good combination, so I decided to use my own berries for this. I had about a cup of crowberries, a cup of bunchberries, and a few cranberries and leftover blueberries in this mix. The berries are a sweet contrast to the stronger molasses flavor - this is a definite keeper!

Ingredients
3/4 c water
3/4 c sugar
2 c berries
2 T flour
2 T hot water

1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil
2 eggs
1/2 c molasses

2 c flour
pinch salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves

1 t baking soda
1/2 c hot water

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix the water and sugar together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes, then add the berries. Simmer for five minutes. While simmering, mix the flour and water together and slowly stir into the berry mixture. Return to a boil until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency.

Blend the brown sugar, oil, and eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in molasses and set aside. Mix together the flour, salt and spices in a second bowl. In a separate cup dissolve the baking soda into the hot water. Blend the dry ingredients into the molasses mixture, alternating with the water and baking soda.

Pour batter into a lightly greased square pan. Swirl in 1/2 to 3/4s of the berry mixture. Reserve the remaining berry sauce for topping. Bake for 45 minutes.

It's BBQ time!

It's summer... what's more perfect than BBQ? Now, I will preface this by saying THIS IS NOT REAL BBQ!!!!

That said, not all of us are fortunate enough to either live where real BBQ can be procured or to have the time and materials needed to create it ourselves. Seeing as I live in Alaska and work, I have none of these things. So I go the easy route - but it's a pretty good alternative!

Ingredients

Meat - chicken breasts or a nice piece of pork
BBQ sauce - your choice, two bottles
Bacon
Starch - either a good roll or a baked potato

Toss the meat and one bottle of sauce into the crock pot. Cook on low 4-6 hours or until the meat is tender enough to shred. Cut the bacon into small slices and saute in a skillet. Add the shredded meat and more sauce to taste. Saute meat and bacon together to caramelize the sauce, then serve over your choice of starch.

Chicken Marsala

This one's for my husband!
Not your traditional Easter dinner, but with only the cat and me here, tradition is out the window. Typically I serve this dish with rice, but I couldn't completely abandon the mashed potatoes on Easter, so you get two recipes for the price of one today!

Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, pounded flat
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t oregano
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c butter
1/2 c marsala wine*
1/4 c cream sherry

Mix flour, salt, pepper, and oregano. Meanwhile, bring the oil and butter to a boil in a skillet. Dredge the chicken in the flour mix, then brown in the oil 2 minutes on each side. Carefully add the wine and sherry. Cover and simmer 5 minutes on each side.

*the marsala you chose will make or break this recipe. Don't buy the cheapest thing out there!

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are my favorite. They are one food that I will not compromise on - you won't find me sneaking veggies into them, or worrying about how healthy they are. That said, mine are not the most unhealthy out there either! For me, the ultimate mashed potatoes are smooth and fluffy. None of those chunks!

Peel and cube baking potatoes. Boil until soft and strain. Place butter or margarine into a bowl - I usually use about 1/4 c for every three or four potatoes. Now, here's the trick: press the cooked cubes of potato through a potato ricer, into the bowl. Add some salt and pepper and a dash of skim milk into the bowl, then quickly blend with a whisk. Don't use a hand mixer, and don't overwork the potatoes. This should only take a few seconds, and you will have perfect potatoes every time.

Chocolate Irish Cherry

Who doesn't love a good dessert drink? This is one of our favorites.

Ingredients

2 parts Bailey's
2 parts Godiva Chocolate-Caramel liquor
2 parts brandy
1 part Chambord
1 part butterscotch schnapps
1 graham cracker, crushed
water
chocolate shavings

In one shallow bowl, pour a thin layer of water. In a second, the crushed graham crackers. Dip the edge of a martini glass first in the water, then the graham crackers.

Meanwhile, mix the first 5 ingredients in a shaker, then strain into the glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Pots du Creme and Creme Anglaise

I have a bad habit. I constantly change and adjust recipes... before I've even tried them once! But it worked out alright this time. This dessert is quite decadent and is now a new favorite in this household!

Chocolate-Irish Cream Pots du Creme

3/4 c heavy cream
1/8 c Baileys
1/2 c milk
1/4 c sugar
4 egg yolks
3 oz chocolate
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 325.

Combine the cream, milk, and chocolate in a saucepan. Heat and stir constantly to melt. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, blend yolks, sugar, and salt until pale yellow. Mix in the chocolate, then add the Baileys. Strain into a large 4 cup measure.

Place ramekins in a deep baking dish. Pour the chocolate evenly into each ramekin. Carefully pour hot water into the dish until it is about a half inch from the top of the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake until just set, approximately 20 minutes.

Carefully remove from the baking dish. Cool, then cover with plastic wrap and chill 3-4 hours.

Makes approximately 4 pots.


Creme Anglaise

1/2 c milk
2 egg yolks
1.5 oz sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t brandy

Pour the milk, vanilla, and brandy into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, blend the yolks and sugar together until they are a very pale yellow.

Remove the simmering milk from heat and slowly pour half over the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

Still stirring constantly, pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk. Return to heat.

Cook for a short time over medium heat to thicken, stirring constantly. Scrape the sides and bottom regularly and do not boil.

Remove from heat and strain into a bowl. Stir continuously for two minutes to cool. To complete cooling quickly, place the bowl in a larger bowl of ice and stir the creme until cool. If you have more time, you can place the bowl in the freezer, stirring periodically until it's cool. If you don't use one of these methods, a skin will form on top of the creme.

Awesome Autumn Cupcakes

Pumpkin. Chocolate chips. Heavy cream. Mascarpone, mascarpone, and more mascarpone!

This decadent dessert looks intimidating at first, but it's really not that hard and the results are totally worth it.

Cupcakes

2 1/4 c flour
1/4 c wheat germ (optional)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 c butter
1 1/3 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin
3/4 c milk
chocolate chips or dried fruit of choice

Mix the first 8 ingredients together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients and the milk, alternating, until the batter forms. Stir in chocolate chips or dried fruit. Pour into cupcake pan and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Filling

3 egg yolks
heaping 1/4 c sugar
pinch salt
1/2 c heavy cream
1 8 oz container mascarpone
2 T brandy
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t ground cloves

In a metal bowl, beat the yolks, sugar, and salt together about 4 minutes or until light yellow. Stir in the 1/2 cup cream. Hold the bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring constantly until it reaches 160 degrees (about 5 minutes). Cool to room temperature. Add the mascarpone cheese, brandy, and spices, beating at medium high speed for about 3 minutes.

Now go back to the cupcakes. Carefully cut a cone out of the middle, creating a hole in the cupcake.

Then cut off the pointy end of the cone, turning the remainder into a "lid" for the hole.

Fill with the cream mixture, then put the lids back on.

Frosting

1 8 oz container mascarpone, room temperature
1/2-1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
2-4 T powdered sugar
1 c heavy cream

Beat the mascarpone, spices, and sugar together. Add the cream. Continue to beat at high speed until the mixture thickens enough to hold its shape. Adjust spices to taste. Pipe onto the cupcakes. For a nice Halloween twist, use food coloring to dye the icing orange.

Alterations

Peppermint
Instead of pumpkin cupcakes, use your favorite white cake recipe, adding a few tablespoons of peppermint schnapps and some ground up candy canes. For the filling and frosting, replace the spices with a bit of peppermint flavor. Color the frosting a pale green and sprinkle with more ground candy cane.